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Minerals in Detail
Chemical Details | Description | Industrial Applications | In Nature | Health Impacts
TIN
Tin - chemical details
| Symbol | Sn |
| Atomic number | 50 |
| Atomic mass | 118.69 g.mol-1 |
| Electronegativity | 1.8 (according to Pauling) |
| Density | 5.77g.cm-3 (alpha) and 7.3 g.cm-3 at 20°C (beta) |
| Melting point | 232 °C |
| Boiling point | 2270 °C |
| Vanderwaals radius | 0.162 nm |
| Ionic radius | 0.112 nm (+2) |
| 0.070 nm (+4) |
| Isotopes | 20 |
| Electronic configuration | [ Kr ] 4d10 5s25p2 |
| Energy of first ionisation | 708.4 kJ.mol-1 |
| Energy of second ionisation | 1411.4 kJ.mol-1 |
| Energy of third ionisation | 2942.2 kJ.mol-1 |
| Standard potential | -1.07 V |
| Discovered | - The ancients |
Chemical Details | Description | Industrial Applications | In Nature | Health Impacts
Tin - Description
Tin is a soft, pliable, ductile, crystaline, silvery-white metal. Tin is not easily oxidized and resists corrosion because it is protected by an very thin
oxide film. Tin resists corrosion from distilled sea and soft tap water, but can be attacked by strong acids, alkalis and acid salts.
Chemical Details | Description | Industrial Applications | In Nature | Health Impacts
Tin - Industrial applications
Tin is used primarily as one of its many alloys, from dental fillings to superconducting magnets to tin foil. For details on
industrial applications and impact on the environment see www.lenntech.com/Periodic-chart-elements/Sn-en.htm
Chemical Details | Description | Industrial Applications | In Nature | Health Impacts
Tin - In natural form
Tin oxide is insoluble and the ore strongly resists weathering, so the amount of tin in soils and natural waters is low. The concentration in soils is
generally between the range 1-4 ppm but some soils have less that 0.1 ppm while peat can have as much 300 ppm.
There are a few tin-containing minerals, but only one is of commercial significance and that is cassiterite. The main mining area is known as the "tin belt",
running from China through Thailand, Burma and Malaysia to the islands of Indonesia. Malaysia produces 40% of the world's tin. Other important tin mining
areas are Bolivia and Brazil. Global production is in excess of 140.000 tonnes per year and workable reserves amount to more 4 million tonnes.
Chemical Details | Description | Industrial Applications | In Nature | Health Impacts
Tin - Impact on health
Tin is considered a trace mineral, or micromineral because it is found in small amounts in our body. Consequently it is believed to play a part in our
overall health and bodily processes. Tin is found in human tissues and in the greatest amounts in the supra-renal glands, liver, brain, spleen, and thyroid
gland.
However, there is not a lot of information about tin's role in the human body. In animal studies, it has been shown that a deficiency of tin contributes to
poor growth, hearing loss, and male pattern baldness. It may have cancer prevention properties.
According to Roth, tin is associated with iodine the same way as calcium is associated with magnesium. Tin supports the adrenals, and iodine supports the thyroid, with both
subsequently affecting cardiac output: tin+ adrenals control the left side, and iodine+ thyroid control the right side. In addition to low Vitamin C
and/or Vitamin B1, low tin is a common nutritional cause of low adrenals, which can lead to left-sided cardiac insufficiency. While fatigue or depression
may be experienced with cardiac insufficiency of either side, breathing difficulties or asthma are more common with left-sided cardiac insufficiency, and
swelling of hands and feet is more common with right-sided cardiac insufficiency, regardless of the cause.1
Reference:
- Roth, R. (2000). http://www.acu-cell.com/tin.html. Retrieved 24 Sep 2008.
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